1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved way and means of producing electrical power from metal-fuel tape transported through metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) systems and devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/944,507, Applicant discloses several types of novel metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) systems. During power generation, metal-fuel tape is transported over a stationary cathode structure in the presence of an ionically-conducting medium, such as an electrolyte-impregnated gel. In accordance with well known principles of electro-chemistry, the transported metal-fuel tape is oxidized as electrical power is produced from the system.
Metal-air FCB systems of the type disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/944,507 have numerous advantages over prior art electro-chemical discharging devices. For example, one advantage is the generation of electrical power over a range of output voltage levels required by particular electrical load conditions. Another advantage is that oxidized metal-fuel tape can be repeatedly reconditioned (i.e. recharged) during battery recharging cycles carried out during electrical discharging operation, as well as separately therefrom.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,370, Applicant discloses an improved system and method for recharging oxidized metal-fuel tape used in prior art metal-air FCB systems. By integrating a recharging head within a metal-air FCB discharging system, this technological improvement theoretically enables quicker recharging of metal-fuel tape for reuse during discharging operations. In practice, however, a number of important problems have remained unsolved which have hitherto rendered rechargeable FCB systems commercially unfeasible.
In particular, the tape-based FCB system design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,370 assumes that the fuel along the metal-fuel tape will be consumed in a uniform manner as it is transported from its supply reel to its take-up reel during discharging operations. In practice, however, metal-fuel is not consumed in a uniform manner along the length of the tape structure by virtue of the fact that electrical loading conditions vary during tape transport and discharging operations. Consequently, when using the FCB system design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,370, substantial amounts of metal-fuel will be left abandoned along the length of transported metal-fuel tape during discharging operations. This results in inefficient use of metal-fuel required during discharging operations, and inefficient use of electrical power required during recharging operations.
Thus there is a great need in the art for an improved method of and apparatus for electrochemically discharging and recharging metal-fuel tape in a manner which overcomes the limitations of prior art technologies.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of and apparatus for electrochemically discharging and/or recharging metal-air fuel cell batteries (FCB) in a manner which avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art technologies.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein metal-fuel tape can be transported through its discharging head assembly in a bi-directional manner while the availability of metal-fuel therealong is automatically managed in order to improve the performance of the system during the discharging mode of operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein the metal-fuel tape to be discharged comprises multiple metal-fuel tracks for use in generating different output voltages from a metal-air FCB system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein each zone or subsection of metal fuel along the length of each metal-fuel tape track is labeled with a digital code, through optical or magnetic means, for enabling the recording of discharge-related data and the computation of metal-fuel availability along each such zone of metal-fuel tape during discharging operations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein metal-fuel tape can be transported through its recharging head assembly in a bi-directional manner while the presence of metal-oxide therealong is automatically managed in order to improve the performance of the system during the recharging mode of operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein the oxidized metal-fuel tape to be recharged comprises multiple metal-fuel tracks for use in generating different output voltages from a metal-air FCB system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, wherein each zone or subsection of metal fuel along the length of each metal-fuel tape track is labeled with a digital code, through optical or magnetic means, for enabling the recording of recharge-related data and the computation of metal-oxide presence along each such zone of metal-fuel tape during recharging operations.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent hereinafter.